The Doctor, the Captain and the Brigadier
by kalirush
Summary: Jack and the Doctor run into an old friend.


Jack and the Doctor ran through the corridor, coats flapping behind them. "So, we can abort the launch from the computer bank in the central core?" Jack asked

"Only if we make it in time," the Doctor answered, his teeth gritted.

Then they rounded a corner, and almost ran into a uniformed man carrying a gun. The Doctor stopped short, realizing who he was looking at. "Jack," he said, grinning, "This is Brigadier-"

"Alistair!" Jack interrupted, with obvious pleasure. "What brings you to Guarulhos?"

"I imagine we're both here about the Terileptil problem, Captain," the other man answered, with a tone of wary familiarity in his voice.

"What?" the Doctor said, incredulously. "What? Never mind. Alien missiles now, discussions of why you two seem to know each other later. Allons-y!"

The Brigadier fell in line behind the Doctor. "Captain, is that-"

"Yup," Jack said, grinning.

"Good god," the Brigadier said. "Is he aging backwards? What regeneration is he on now?"

"Tenth," the Doctor supplied, ducking around a crate. "I'm right here, you know."

"Tenth?" The Brigadier said, amiably. "You were on your fifth, last I saw you. Have you been careless?"

The Doctor came to a branching corridor, hesitated, and then ran left, motioning them to follow. "When was the last time we met, then- that Mawdryn thing?"

"Mmm," the Brigadier agreed. "That was a nasty business. Still, turned out alright in the end, I suppose."

"I read about that," Jack put in, ducking his head to check a side-corridor for guards. "The report probably left out the good details, though."

The Brigadier glanced disapprovingly at Jack. "Have you been hacking UNIT files again, Captain?"

"Again, Alistair?" Jack grinned as he ran. "I'm just trying to encourage inter-agency cooperation."

"It's not inter-agency cooperation if we haven't actually cooperated," the Brigadier pointed out, grumbling.

The Doctor stopped suddenly, waving them quiet. "It's through there," he whispered, indicating a door with two uniformed soldiers in front of it.

"Doctor," the Brigadier said, his voice hushed. He holstered his gun. "Is the TARDIS nearby?"

"Nearby-ish," the Doctor answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I don't speak Portuguese," the Brigadier said, stepping out from the side of the wall. "You there!" he called. The guards looked startled, and drew their weapons. The Brigadier saluted. "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart of the United Nations Intelligence Task Force. I'm here to inspect this facility."

One of the guards looked at him suspiciously. "No one told us about an inspection," he said.

The Brigadier sighed. "Your CO should have informed you," he said. "No matter. I've the documentation right here." He began fishing through his pockets. Jack and the Doctor carefully maneuvered their way back to the door, just outside the line of sight of the soldiers. The Doctor grinned, and soniced the door open. The guards spun at the noise.

"Sorry," the Brigadier said as he slammed the guard nearest him into a sleeper hold, "We've got business inside."

"Nicely done," Jack said appreciatively, as he incapacitated the other guard. "Was that Venusian aikido?"

"Learnt it from watching an old friend," the Brigadier said. The core was a circular room lined with computer banks. "Doctor- I was sent with a computer virus to disable the launch." He held out a floppy disk.

"Really?" The Doctor looked curious. "Let me see that." He took the disk, and loaded it into one of the disk slots in the computer bank.

Jack took up a defensive position by the door while the Doctor began typing furiously into the computer interface. The Brigadier took up a position opposite him. "Are you here with Torchwood?" he asked Jack, conversationally.

"Not this time," Jack said. "I'm freelancing."

"Is that how you know each other?" the Doctor asked, typing faster.

"I've known Captain Harkness nearly as long as I've known you, Doctor," the Brigadier said, mildly. "He's been Torchwood's liaison with UNIT since its inception- though I only met him in the flesh a few years ago."

"The Pontneddfechan incident," Jack said, grinning. "And Alistair, you know I'd be happy to meet you in the flesh more often. You and Doris both."

"Don't start!" the Doctor. He glanced over at Jack, a look of horror on his face. "I mean, really, seriously, don't start." He frowned at the computer screen. "Brigadier, did you know that this virus was designed to put a backdoor into the system that gives UNIT control over the missile launch?"

The Brigadier looked concerned. "I was told it would shut down the system completely," he said. "Doctor, if my superiors at UNIT are trying to appropriate the missiles-"

"I won't let them," the Doctor said, with the air of one making a promise.

* * *

><p>It took another few hours and one regrettably large explosion, but they sorted things out in the end. "I'll be speaking to UNIT command about this," the Brigadier said, sternly, as they stood in front of the doors of the TARDIS. "This sort of behaviour should be Torchwood's domain, not ours."<p>

"Hey, now," Jack objected, smiling.

"Present company excluded, of course," the Brigadier clarified, his hands clasped behind his back.

The Doctor looked at him, considering. "Are you sure you don't want a ride home?" he offered.

The Brigadier chuckled. "And be sidetracked to the Bronze Age, Doctor? No, someone's got to stay and deal with the paperwork. They'll be going mad in São Paulo."

The Doctor paused. "Then I suppose this is goodbye," he said slowly. "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart!" He broke into a sudden grin. "Always a pleasure."

The Brigadier looked gruff, and a bit serious. "I always know there's going to be trouble when I see you, Doctor," he said. "Still," he continued, after a pause, "It's always good to see you. Take care of yourself. And don't worry; I won't mention this if I should run into a younger you." He turned to Jack and saluted. "Captain," he said.

"Brigadier," Jack said, saluting in return. He winked. "I meant it about you and Doris, by the way," he said, his mouth turned up in a half-smile.

"Jack-" the Doctor said, darkly.

"Doctor," Jack said, innocently. "If you're jealous, you know where to find me. There's more than enough to go around." Ignoring the spluttering Time Lord, he sauntered back into the TARDIS.

The Doctor turned to the Brigadier, considering him. Suddenly, the Doctor reached out and hugged the other man, holding him tightly for a long moment and then releasing him. "You really are brilliant," he said, smiling broadly.

The Brigadier looked thoroughly unsettled by this show of affection. "Yes, well," he said. "Er- until next time, then?"

"Until next time," the Doctor agreed. He glanced over his shoulder once, and was gone.


End file.
